Phantasy Star: A Shadow Among the Darkness
by Hissing Goose
Summary: The Pioneer 2 has finally reached the habitable world of Ragol in hopes to find new life. When Pioneer 2 tries to contact their sister ship, Pioneer 1, there was a mysterious explosion that cut all communication between them and the surface...
1. Prologue

Phantasy Star:

A Shadow Among the Darkness

Prologue 

The long journey was over. After seven tedious years of warp travel the Pioneer 2, sister ship to the expeditionary vessel Pioneer 1, reached the habitable world of Ragol. Both ships had been carrying tens of thousands of refugees from a dying world and Pioneer 1 was sent ahead to establish a colony while the second ship was finished being constructed. Once the Pioneer 2 had arrived, the crew and her passengers eagerly waited within Ragol's atmosphere for the moment they would be given permission to land and join the first ship and her crew in a new world with a hope for new life.

Though once communication between the two vessels had been established, the central dome of the colony constructed by the inhabitants of Pioneer 1 vanished under a wall of flame. The source of what had created the explosion remained a mystery and the hopes and dreams of the men and women of Pioneer 2 seemed to dwindle and fade. Principle Tyrell, in an attempt to regain order as well as the hopes of the people, sent teams of hunters to the surface to investigate the reason behind the explosion and locate any survivors of the colony.

A special military branch aboard the Pioneer 2 known as the "Holy Cross Corporation," sent several teams of hunters with superior weapons, armor, training and leadership to the surface in hopes of finding answers that everyone one aboard Pioneer 2 was so anxiously awaiting.

* * *

An older man wearing a dark gray military uniform sat behind a large metallic desk with at least a dozen small monitors set in a semi circular setup around him. He watched the screens one by one flicker on and the speakers set behind the desk pop and buzz to life after a few seconds of static. The room was enveloped in total darkness, savor the trace amounts of light coming from the small screens illuminating the man's worn face and causing his glasses to reflect the dim light. He watched the faces of men and women flash on and off the screens and heard them all check in. He folded his hands in front of his face and narrowed his eyes.

_Time to see what Ragol has to offer us then…_

* * *

There was nothing but darkness within the corridor. The only source of light was coming from flashlights mounted on weapons and on the left shoulders of the sixteen soldiers, sent by Holy Cross. Each of them was wearing state of the art battle armor from head to toe with cameras built into the helmets recording the never-ending sea of darkness. The white armor seemed to gleam slightly as light from other soldiers landed across the sleek surface. The mood among the troops was quiet and tense as they waded over small stones and other debris strewn about the dirt floor beneath.

The woman leading the team was several meters ahead of the unit and stopped suddenly shinning the light mounted on her Launcher at something large in front of her. The light seemed to dance slowly across a large purple colored metallic door that was at least ten meters tall and fourteen meters wide. She hoisted the heavy weapon up, which was at least a meter and a half itself, and after balancing it on the support attachment on her armor she brought up her left arm and with a firm hand pointed to the left and again quickly to the right.

Light began to bounce around the entire passageway as the troops briskly ran to their designated locations, each of which then formed up into a standard battle position. The troops carrying lighter blasters, like Repeaters, knelt about a meter from the door while the rest of the troops carrying the Blaster rifles and Launchers leveled their weapons on the door in a staggered formation so they would keep their line of fire clear.

The woman who was in command had reached at her hip belt with her left hand and removed two light packs and threw them on the ground behind them. The moment they hit the purplish dirt, they lit up the entire corridor and the darkness vanished from their view as well as an area of fifteen meters in all directions.

She narrowed her eyes to better adjust to the now abundance of light that encircled her and her team. "HC02, can you scan anything beyond the door?" she asked in a cool commanding tone. Her words echoed louder then she would have liked but she didn't concern herself too much with it.

The large and bulky white armored android scanned its overly disproportionate head from left to right and then repeated this process two more times before replying. "Negative. If there are any life forms on the other end of this door, I cannot detect them. I am sorry, commander," HC02 replied in a dry and lifeless voice.

The young woman grunted and unclasped the helmet strap underneath her chin, removed it and tucked it under her left arm. Long strands of dark black hair fell to her shoulders and her dark eyes narrowed out of frustration rather then exposure to light this time. She looked to her right and eyed one of the soldiers holding a blaster rifle.

"Heretic, would you say this was built by the crew of Pioneer 1 or is it of different origin?" She asked already knowing full well what his answer would be. Still, she tilted her head towards the man that had a strange decal on the left chest piece of his armor waiting for his response.

Heretic, a thin and somewhat crazed fanatic, though a fanatic of what was a mystery, shook his head rapidly. "Nah, boss. Whatever this is, it ain't us," he replied in a tense and almost borderline psychotic voice.

The woman nodded and turned back to her left. She felt extremely uncomfortable with him on her team, but he was by far one of the best shots with the Blaster rifle she had ever witnessed. She then eyed a large black man holding a Launcher much like herself. Though he was already looking back at her knowing she would go to him next.

"Malice, can you crack it open for us? I would like to sneak a peek if it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to you," she said in a suppressed laugh. She knew he was just waiting for the command.

Malice snapped his Launcher into a vertical position in acknowledgement and a menacing grin stretched across his wide face. "I would love to be of any assistance to you, ma'am," he said in a deep voice as he left his designated location and approached what seemed to be the center of the door.

The young woman scoffed at the remark slightly. "I would only want or need you to open this door for me, Malice. Now get it done," she snapped in an almost hostile tone. She did not have time for his nonsense today. Not that she liked it when he did this any day. Today though everything would go smoothly and by the books because she as well as thousands of others had waited seven long years to get here and nothing was going to stop them from enjoying a new life in a new home. Nothing.

He growled but kept it low, but not so low that she would not be able to hear it. She smiled knowing that she got under his skin. With a quick check of her watch on her left arm, seventeen minutes had elapsed since they had reached the surface. That wasn't bad considering they found this cavern relatively quick. What bothered her was that this area seemed undisturbed for several years. Had the crew of Pioneer 1 not found this? That would be impossible since it was in extreme proximity to their core colony.

"This will take a few moments to crack, ma'am," Malice called out bringing her back to the current time and place. She watched him unclasp his Launcher from the support on the armor and place it to the ground. He also removed his customized sword from his hip belt and gently rested it on the ground.

A shuddered surged through her involuntarily. She knew he could handle all sorts of heavy weaponry, but he was most lethal with the blade. The way he moved his entire body with a deadly grace while he wielded that sword was enough to make her never want to be on the receiving end of it. She eyed the blade carefully for another few seconds while he began removing tools he would use to cut through the door.

Suddenly a there was a light beeping coming from her receiver on her hip belt and she put her helmet on and reached for it. She tapped a button and a picture of a man with long dark blue-gray hair appeared. It was Prophet. He was not among the team, which was unusual since he was one of the best Force users she had seen in action.

"Soul Fly, the man wants to know what the progress is," he said in a voice that came off to her like a snake. She could not stand him either but ignored the feeling of discomfort. She was there to do a job and she was going to get it done.

"We are working as quickly as possible. With you hogging the line, you are delaying us. Not to mention he knows what our status is. He has been watching us every second so far," she said somewhat angrily and awaited his spiteful response. She did not have to wait long.

"I am just doing the job I was assigned to do this run. I would advise you do the same," he said and snapped off from view in the receiver. Fly was having more and more doubts about this mission now. This entire thing seemed wrong somehow. Like everyone knew something except her and they weren't about to speak up either.

Ignoring the feelings of discomfort and her screaming instincts, she looked up at Malice who was just lighting the torch to cut through the door. Right as he brought the cutting torch to the door, it hissed open and anything beyond the door was in complete and total darkness. A light breeze blew just as the door fully opened and there was a deathly feel to the air.

"Orders, ma'am?" Heretic snapped. Fly turned to him and saw him curl his upper lip up repeatedly. She hesitated a moment and he turned to face her wasting no time. "Is something wrong ma'am?" he said in an even faster, more neurotic voice.

Irritated, she only grunted. "No nothing is wrong, now shut up and move up. Take it slow and keep it tight," she ordered. As her words rang out, the troops began moving up slowly and carefully.

As the soldiers moved several meters past the door, darkness completely encircled them. Even with the flashlights, they could barely see a few feet in front of them. Lieutenant Soul Fly took several more steps inside when she got the distinct feeling they were walking into a trap. Before she allowed her team to move any farther she held up her left hand and spoke as loudly as she would dare.

"All teams hold. HC01 and HC02, go to infrared mode and scan for anything that could be a potential threat," she ordered and heard the two large androids toggling the requested mode.

From the darkness, they heard something stir, followed by multiple sounds coming from what seemed to be everywhere. Fly watched her team stagger and shift uneasily as the noises grew only louder.

"HC01, HC02, what is taking so long? Can you confirm anything?" she barked out as the noises and the shuffling grew ever closer.

At the same moment, both androids responded. "Negative, commander."

Fly heard one of the troops call from the left in a frightened voice. "Something in here is moving, and it ain't us!"

A line of sweat began to form on Fly's brow and she lowered her Launcher in front of her. "HC01, 02, go to night vision and scan, something is moving in here!"

"I wonder if someone is coming out to play," Heretic muttered but she could hear it above anything else. His words chilled her to the very core. The only thing the kept the remark off her mind was the androids high pitched-whine.

"Contacts, twenty yards in closing," HC01 called out just as HC02 also began calling out something very similar, though where HC02 was they were fifteen.

Fly's eyes widened. "We need illumination now!" she screamed and both androids fired flares out. As the flares lit up, the entire room seemed to be alive and moving. And they were moving towards them.

Strange, reptilian-like creatures filled the larger corridor. Their bodies were jagged and jet-black, except for the small sections of sky-blue across their chests that seemed to almost radiate light. The creatures did not appear to have heads or elbows, though their entire arms looked like a sword or a blade and glowed the same sky-blue color as the chest. Their bodies seemed to point out in a triangular shape towards them and they wobbled back and forth on short, stubby, but jagged legs.

The hideous monsters progress was slow until the light had filled the room. Once the darkness faded, they began charging with unbelievable speed. Fly couldn't remember giving the order to fire, but she must have because her entire team was opening up with everything their pulse weapons had and directed it at the mass of creatures.

_They are awful_, she thought. She let the panic that held her dissipate and she lowered her Launcher began firing at the sea of creatures. While the team of hunters fired their weapons, the door behind them began closing.

"Everyone back!" she ordered, in a stern but anxious voice. Just as she began taking several small shuffles back, she heard a cry to her right, followed by several to her left, then all around her. The creatures had reached their defensive line. She eyed the strange looking things in front of her, still ten feet away but slowly gaining ground despite the damage that was being dealt to them.

With a thunderous hiss, the two large slabs of metal were back together sealing the hunters in and the light that was on the opposite side had vanished from view.


	2. A Call to the Surface

Chapter 1 

A Call to the Surface

The streets were crowed with humans and newmen's alike, with both groups of beings going about daily business. Though these genetically altered beings stood out from the humans due to several distinguishing features. Many of them were smaller then your average human. And generally speaking it was by a large margin. Not to mention that they are all extremely intelligent and beautiful beings. Another obvious feature of theirs was their ears. These seemed to resemble something of elven ears, only six or more inches longer and jutting out to the sides.

Priest sat silently and watched these two groups mingle and converse from an outside restaurant. His blue eyes gleamed in the light coming from the artificial horizon maker aboard the Pioneer 2 that towered thousands of feet overhead as well as all around. He wore a metallic headpiece that resembled a headband and helped push his blue-white hair up away from his eyes. His face was rough and handsome, with a small amount of facial hair visible even though he had shaved an hour prior.

A small android approached him with a tray and began to speak just as he heard his portable communicator go off. With a half-grin and completely ignoring the android, he reached with a gloved hand picked up the small metal object.

_They just can't get enough of me,_ he thought, quite amused that even when they gave him off days, they still called him in for work.

Priest tapped a button and he saw Prophet's face appear. The dark haired Force user gave a twisted smile and lowered his head out of respect. Every time he saw Prophet, he couldn't help but look at the scar that cut diagonally from his left forehead, across his nose to his right cheek. What compelled him to gaze at the scar was not the scar itself. It was curiosity as to who or what gave it to him.

"And what do I owe to have such an honorable call?" Priest said sarcastically, but in reality he loved the job and everything about it. He was one of Holy Cross's best agents and every time something went awry, they would call him. It honored him to know that whenever Holy Cross ran into a snag, _he_ would be the one to pull them out. It gave him a sense of accomplishment knowing that all his years of work and training were not in vain.

Prophet chuckled a little, but after a brief moment became very serious. "We lost contact with the team we sent down. It's some type of magnetic interference, no doubt. But we just want to be sure," he said sounding like the snake that he was.

Priest wasn't stupid. He had no love for the man but gave him respect. He also gave respect to his employer due to the fact they kept him extremely well paid. "What was the last known location of the team and who are the players?" he asked cutting the chitchat and getting down to business.

With a smile, Prophet narrowed his eyes showing the same feeling Priest had for him. "I see you stopped wearing civilian clothes all together and just stick with you're battle armor," he hissed in a cold reptilian voice.

Every moment Prophet stalled to make the small talk prolonged, Priest grew more and more tired of the game. "My time and my skills are both precious and in demand. Now you either tell me what I need to know or you can tell the man I will sit this one out because there are other opportunities waiting for me as well as people willing to pay for them," Priest snapped and soured the look on Prophet's face. A wave of satisfaction flowed through him knowing he ruined whatever fun Prophet was having.

* * *

Mina, grit her teeth as her attacker came in with an overhead attack. She barely got her Brand sword up to block it in time. As the two energy swords met, the man whipped his leg around and landed a clean shot to her gut sending her tumbling back.

The young newman Hunter caught herself before she fell to the ground. Her heavy black boots made an echo in the large empty room and seemed to bounce off the walls a hundred times over, with her ears picking up every last bit of it. The fishnet stockings she wore were in tatters. Her black and red corset-like top was rumpled and dirtied with dust and a few tears here and there. The matching shorts she wore were covered in the same whitish-brown dust that was kicked up during the scuffle, with the swordsmen now slowly circling her.

"Ugh," she whimpered out. The newman took several ragged breaths and hunched forward, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Her choker, which had a small white insignia in the center that revealed she was a Whitell badge holder, felt like it was compressing itself on her throat. She clutched her stomach with her gloved left hand while her right loosely held onto her blade that ever so slightly touched the gray tiled floor. Mina menacingly picked her head up so she could face her assailants while she tried to compose herself. "Is that all you got?" she managed to wheeze out as some stray strands of bright pink hair fell across her dark purple eyes. She watched as the four attackers formed up for a strike with a victorious smile stretching across their faces.

"Mina, you really have got to stop charging into things like this," another female newman called out from several feet behind her. She shook her head as she approached slowly, with a strange looking staff that was only about three feet long. There seemed to be a motherly aura about her even though she was younger then Mina.

She wore an extravagant purple and black coat. She also wore a large purple and black hat that had a large fluffy white ball at the top that hid her frosted white colored hair. The "skirt" she wore really wasn't much of a skirt at all. It had an opening in the front that made the black shorts she wore underneath visible. The "skirt" rested on her hips and then jutted out on all sides like a bell, so it would rarely touch her legs. The outfit was completed with the black stockings she wore that reached to her upper thighs as well as elevated shoes of matching color.

With a smile, the second newman narrowed her blue eyes that had light purple markings that resembled eyeliner and tilted her head to the side. Her ears were quiet visible as well as the three purple triangular shapes that lined the bottom of both her cheeks.

Without letting her guard down, Mina managed to get a few quick glances at Anri, her younger sister twirling her staff. "Well are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me teach these punks a lesson?" she asked as a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Immediately as Mina finished speaking, two of the attackers nearest Anri, made a charge for her and quickly closed the distance. Anri didn't flinch at all, but instead she raised and pointed her staff at the two charging men and closed her eyes. At the base of the staff, bluish-white energy particles began to form and spin up to the top of the rod.

Ice began forming on the tiled floor and the air above the slowly growing patch of ice turned to a light mist with icy particles floating to the ground. Without warning, the ice sped away from Anri and made it's way straight for her two attackers. One man took the blast of freezing cold air to his gut and lost his balance on the ice and slammed into the ground with sickening force. He never again stood from the tremendously lethal blast. The other swordsman was engulfed in a thin layer of ice and remained in the defensive stance he was using before the ice had enveloped him.

Mina, not wanting to waste the moment of opportunity, clutched her sword firmly in both hands and brought the heavy weapon over her head for a power attack on the nearest enemy to her. The swordsman raised his weapon up to meet hers and while she commenced the attack, the other remaining swordsman charged in with weapon ready. Mina been anticipating this and chambered her left leg across her body and executed a flawless sidekick to the charging man's head, while managing to hold the others mans sword in place with her own.

After the man she had kicked dropped to the ground and rolled out of sight, Mina brought her sword back and delivered a flurry of different combinations to her remaining opponent, all of which were blocked. Anri cried out a warning and Mina quickly turned her body to face the opposite direction and dropped to one knee while she brought her sword around and took a blind swipe at the air, that was only a moment ago behind her. Though she did not hit just air. There was a high-pitched scream and the man she had kicked only a moment before, collapsed hard to the ground, not getting up again.

Anri saw everything slow down to a crawl as Mina had dispatched the attacker behind her, but the last swordsman brought his eager weapon up and was in the process of bringing his blade towards her vulnerable sister. Without allowing another second to pass, she aimed her staff towards the swordsman and it set itself ablaze. The fire shot away from Anri in the blink of an eye and incinerated the man that was once standing behind Mina.

Mina shot a look behind her to see nothing remaining except a light coat of ash and smiled towards Anri. "Thanks. He woulda had me, I think," she said standing up slowly and made her way towards the man still frozen under the layer of ice.

With a laugh, Anri lowered her staff. "No, he definitely would have had you, if I hadn't saved your butt, again," she said with a large and affectionate smile consuming her entire face. She reached the frozen man before Mina did, and with a gentle push, the man toppled over and hit the floor, shattering into millions of fragments, some large and some small.

Before Mina had a chance to counter her younger sister's remark, the gray tiled room fell away and brought them back into the training room aboard the Pioneer 2. Both of the newman's took a glance around quickly before the lights in the twenty by twenty foot room lit up.

"That was easy. They keep getting easier and easier," Mina said triumphantly as she led the way out of the VR Training room. She couldn't help but smile as she saw the look on Anri's face.

"'Easier'? Are you crazy? You were about to lose, to four swordsmen on the easiest difficulty level. If I hadn't stepped in when I did, you would be singing a different tune," she shot back, but was smiling as well. "You really have to learn to be more careful, Mina," Anri said quickly changing to a serious voice. "The surface of Ragol is supposedly a dangerous place. Veteran hunters are going down to the surface and not returning," she whispered, with concern drawn all across her youthful features.

Mina stopped walking towards the door that would take them back to the VR Training Lobby. She turned to face Anri with a stern look of her own. "I know. But when I am allowed to go to the surface, I will become one of the greatest hunters the Pioneer has ever seen. I know I have a long way to go, but I can do this. It's something I have always wanted. It's something I have to do for you…for me," Mina said in a sincere voice and looked to the floor of the training room, feeling almost ashamed of what she had said.

Anri nodded to her sister with understanding. "You and me will both become the best, that's for sure. We just have to know when we are in over our heads," she said and continued after a long pause. "And I do have the means to get us to the surface," she said with a small smile building. She couldn't help but smile more when Mina looked up with a perplexed look. "I was granted authorization by Principle Tyrell. Apparently he wants even the rookies to go down and gain whatever experience they can so long as they stay in groups and if they are extremely careful," she said removing a small ID card and tossed it to her sister.

Mina's mouth dropped and a smile stretched across her face. "I don't believe this!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She ran to her sister and gave her a loving embrace and held it for a few moments. "What would I do without you, Anri?" she asked in a playful yet serious tone.

"Obviously getting into a unimaginable amount of trouble," she replied, chuckling slightly knowing Mina was smiling too, even though she couldn't see it. She held onto her sister a moment longer before saying: "We better get going now, we have some packing to do if we are going to be hitting the surface anytime soon."

Mina gave an audible agreement and was still awestruck about the idea of actually being able to go to the surface. "Anri, you said we needed a group to go down, right? Well who is going besides you and me?" she asked trying think of anyone else they were close to that would go with them.

Anri's expression soured a little. "Well, I had to sign us up with another group of people. Neither of us know them, but no one that isn't at least a Level 15 Hunter is allowed down there alone. I am sure they are good people though," Anri said, trying her best to convince her sister.

At first, Mina didn't seem like she approved going to Ragol's surface with strangers, but the smile she had a moment before came back after a few seconds. "Well, so long as we get a majority of the loot and the most action, I won't complain," she said jokingly.

The two sisters let out a small laugh and made their way towards the door of the VR Training room. They would both finally be allowed to see the surface of Ragol. Of their new home…


End file.
